Study the Conflict about Using Propofol Safely by Non- anesthesia Providers?

Propofol (Diprivan) was first prepared in early 1970s in the UK by Imperial Chemical Industries as ICI 35868 [1,2]. Clinical trials followed in 1977, first by Kay and Rolly, using a form soluble in cremophor EL confirmed the fact of propofol as an anesthetic to induce anesthesia. The emulsified form was re- introduced in 1986 by ICI (now AstraZeneca); named Diprivan (abbreviated form of di-isopropyl IV anesthetic) [3]. Then used as sedative-hypnotic in U.S.A in 1989. Propofol is an ideal agent for relatively short outpatient procedures such as upper endoscopy and colonoscopy [3,4]. Propofol is best agent of making patient asleep (sedation), predictable loss of memory and decreased tension; stress (anxiolysis), while providing for a rapid recovery with minimal side effects. Propofol has recently been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use as a sedative during local and regional anesthesia. Preliminary studies [1-3] with lowdose propofol infusions suggest that it possesses many of these preferred functions. Shafer et al. [5] suggested a good correlation between the blood levels of propofol. It is Non barbiturate short acting intravenous anesthetic agent, alkyl phenol [3].